In all, 18 sailors made the trip, crossing San Pedro Channel in three of the club’s Shields: Karen, Isabelle and Dark Horse (with our SeaCraft powerboat in support).

For the passage from Long Beach to Two Harbors, a combination of light air and fog got the trip off to a slow start. But by early afternoon, the winds jumped up above 15mph and some choppy seas made for a punishing beat to the island. In all, the crossing took nine hours.

Normally, the trip home is an easy downwind run. But a big Northerly wind early in the morning delayed the homeward leg for about 90 minutes. After that a light breeze from the Northwest meant slow going the first two hours, as the boats were becalmed for about 15 minutes before the Westerly winds slowly built up and allowed a beam reach to Queen’s Gate and into Alamitos Bay.